Antarte invests 2.5 million euros to open a new point of sale in Leiria
Mário Rocha, CEO of Antarte, presented the first Portuguese furniture designed by AI (Artificial Intelligence).
Antarte has opened a new shop in the city of Leiria. The opening of this commercial space involved an investment of 2.5 million euros. The area of more than 1,000 square metres of the new point of sale allows Antarte’s numerous furniture and decoration collections to be displayed.
The space where the new shop is now located is the result of the conversion of an industrial building based on a project designed around the concept of timeless design, Antarte’s trademark. The shop is located on Rua do Alto Vieiro in Leiria, close to the A19 and A8 motorways.
The opening of a point of sale in the city of Leiria is the result of Antarte’s strategic line of presence in national district capitals. With the new point of sale, the brand now has a network of 13 shops, present in Braga, Leça da Palmeira (Feng Shui and Rua Óscar Silva), Porto, Feira, Aveiro, Coimbra, Seixal, Alfragide, Lisbon, Vilamoura and the showroom at the brand’s headquarters in Rebordosa (Paredes).
The opening event was presented by Jorge Gabriel. Several personalities attended, including the mayor of Leiria, Gonçalo Lopes, and public figures such as Rita Pereira and Catarina Gouveia. Rita Pereira said that ‘we grew up together: me and Antarte. Today I’m here personally and not professionally. It’s really for love. I’m part of this family’. Catarina Gouveia stressed that ‘it’s an honour to feel that I’m part of the Antarte family. A benchmark brand in Portugal, which stands for durability and quality in its pieces. An Antarte house stands out above all for the invitation it gives us to stay and enjoy the true meaning of a home’. Jorge Gabriel, who has developed a close relationship with the brand and presented various events, says that ‘as a lover of beauty, design and the avant-garde, I could only be an admirer of this brand, which is much more than a furniture and decoration brand. Antarte is a national brand that everyone should be proud of.’
Mário Rocha, founder and CEO of Antarte, said that ‘the new shop in a district capital with the economic importance of Leiria was strategic to strengthen the brand’s presence in the centre of the country and create greater proximity to one of Portugal’s most dynamic urban centres.’
The event also featured a first: the exclusive presentation of Antarte pieces designed using AI (Artificial Intelligence). These are the first Portuguese pieces of furniture created by AI, an innovation that emphasises Antarte’s position as a cutting-edge Portuguese furniture brand. Respecting the briefings of the creative director and the Antarte brand, AI was asked to create a series of pieces of furniture in line with the timeless design that has been the brand’s image for over 25 years. The end result is several pieces that are essential in living rooms, such as a TV stand and an armchair.
Mário Rocha emphasises that ‘AI was given the freedom to create the furniture design, something that shows innovation. We were bold enough to ask AI to design several pieces of furniture. The designs proposed by IA were only touched up in detail in order to simplify the transition of the pieces to the manufacturing stage. We believe they are products of excellent aesthetic quality that combine artificial and human intelligence. Antarte has once again shown itself to be a brand at the forefront of Portuguese furniture.’